Global plastic treaty talks end without deal amid sharp rifts

New Delhi: After nearly two weeks of negotiations in Geneva, talks to finalise an international treaty to combat plastic pollution ended in the early hours of Friday without an agreement.

The Geneva meeting was supposed to conclude an intergovernmental process that began in 2022, following a decision at the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly to design and adopt an internationally legally binding treaty to combat plastic pollution.

Despite efforts by Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee, to arrive at consensus, countries failed to bridge their differences over issues such as reducing production of plastic polymers, including impact of plastics on health.

Broadly, fossil fuel and plastic producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, India advocated an approach that focuses on managing plastic waste while a large group comprising mostly small island states, Latin America, Africa and the European Union advocated for reduction in plastic production and in the use of toxic chemicals in plastic production as well as managing plastic waste.

In the last 48 hours of the talks, Valdiveso produced two versions of a draft text that sought to bridge these positions. The first draft proposed by the chair on August 13 was criticised by countries proposing a production-to-disposal approach to plastic pollution as “unacceptable”. The second iteration produced by the chair following round the clock consultations with countries including creating a smaller representative group did not find favour with countries advocating a narrower approach.

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The talks will now be resumed later, though the date is as yet undecided.Speaking to the media at the end of the meeting, UN Environment Programme Executive Secretary Inger Andersen said, “This has been a hard-fought 10 days against the backdrop of geopolitical complexities, economic challenges, and multilateral strains. However, one thing remains clear: despite these complexities, all countries clearly want to remain at the table. While we did not land the treaty text we hoped for, we at UNEP will continue the work against plastic pollution – pollution that is in our groundwater, in our soil, in our rivers, in our oceans and yes, in our bodies.”India, despite its domestic policy on plastics, particularly single use plastic, extended producer responsibility, was among the countries vocal in their opposition to an approach that would include production of plastic polymers and use of chemicals in the agreement.For the first time since the plastic treaty talks began in 2022, India came out openly in support of the Like Minded Group, a loose group of 30 countries including Russia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia. The Like-Minded Group and the Arab Group advocate a treaty that is effectively a waste management treaty on plastic products.

In closed door meetings and submissions to the UN’s plastic secretariat, India has made it clear it would not support any agreement that calls for cutting production of plastics. It argued that issues of impact on health were dealt with by agencies such as the WHO and were therefore beyond the mandate of the intergovernmental negotiations.

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